The Last Airbender

Having not read these books, I am only marginally familar with this storyline. The people of the four regions of the world each have a particular strength and attachment with the fundamental elements of water, air, earth and fire. The leaders of these people are able to command their particular element and are refered to as Benders. One person is able to command all four elements, is refered to as the Avatar and is tasked with maintaining peace among the four peoples. In the past century, the Avatar has been missing and the Fire nation has become the dominant force in the world. In fact, their dominance has led to genocide of the Air nation, and domination of the Earth nation. Into this picture, a boy is awakened who is an Air Bender (the last of course), and presumably the Avatar. With help from his friends, he begins to challenge the domination of the Fire nation. This is a fun film, clearly targeted at the same young age group to which the books were marketed. Well done effects and a nice little story. I really liked the fact that the art of element bending required meditative and precise, dance-like motions. It became a communication with nature rather than a domination, even for the Fire benders. Small touches like this often make the difference between good and cheesy. Here we have good.
3 stars (out of 5)